cell phone thread

[phosphoric]

android, iphone, windows phone, whatever crappy piece of hardware you use on a daily basis. let's get a discussion going here (and try to avoid the phone feud of old; we all have one thing in common, and that is keyboards, which can be used on pretty much any interface).

i used to be an avid apple fan and have owned an iphone since my first smartphone; i went from iphone 4, to 4s, to 5, and then 6. before i got my iphone 6, i decided to take a dip in the android pool with a samsung galaxy s4 (which i firmly believe was pure trash) and a nexus 5. the only reason i went back to an iphone was because the nexus 5 was outdated and i had no interest in the phablet-sized nexus 6 at the time. i prefer a stock android experience and just ordered the nexus 6p today.

[romevi]

I miss my Razr...

[FLFisherman]

I miss my Razr...

(Attachment Link)

I loved this phone. I still have four of them in my closet.

Now I'm using the LG Optimus G Pro. How did I survive without the Internet?

[phosphoric]

I miss my Razr...

(Attachment Link)

I loved this phone. I still have four of them in my closet.

Now I'm using the LG Optimus G Pro. How did I survive without the Internet?

do you like it? i find that most manufacture software flashed on top of android is so ugly and bulky, but everybody feels differently. i also have a ton of friends who own lg's phones and love them

[FLFisherman]

I miss my Razr...

(Attachment Link)

I loved this phone. I still have four of them in my closet.

Now I'm using the LG Optimus G Pro. How did I survive without the Internet?

do you like it? i find that most manufacture software flashed on top of android is so ugly and bulky, but everybody feels differently. i also have a ton of friends who own lg's phones and love them

I am extremely happy with it. I don't really know anything about other phones though. When I went to pick this one out I just selected one with a big screen and that Zero Lemon made an extended battery for. I've dropped it a few times and it hasn't broken or scratched yet (little drops, like off a counter). I rooted it very easily and installed a backup program for my files. I totally removed Facebook (ha!) and my battery takes three or four days to drain. Honestly, it's perfect.

[byker]

Nice idea for a thread. I am currently using a Xiaomi Mi 4C, running cyanogenmod 13 (marshmallow). I love this phone and rom!

[SpAmRaY]

https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=36234.0

[FLFisherman]

https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=36234.0

I thought it wouldn't be allowed to necro that since it was more than two months ago?

[phosphoric]

I miss my Razr...

(Attachment Link)

I loved this phone. I still have four of them in my closet.

Now I'm using the LG Optimus G Pro. How did I survive without the Internet?

do you like it? i find that most manufacture software flashed on top of android is so ugly and bulky, but everybody feels differently. i also have a ton of friends who own lg's phones and love them

I am extremely happy with it. I don't really know anything about other phones though. When I went to pick this one out I just selected one with a big screen and that Zero Lemon made an extended battery for. I've dropped it a few times and it hasn't broken or scratched yet (little drops, like off a counter). I rooted it very easily and installed a backup program for my files. I totally removed Facebook (ha!) and my battery takes three or four days to drain. Honestly, it's perfect.

sounds like a good deal. when i had my s4, rooting was a pain in the ass and trying to mod it with anything more than nova launcher was entirely stupid. using an locked bootloader... never again

Nice idea for a thread. I am currently using a Xiaomi Mi 4C, running cyanogenmod 13 (marshmallow). I love this phone and rom!

ooh, cyanogenmod. i didn't especially care for it, but i feel like there was much more capability than i could figure out.

[byker]

Nice idea for a thread. I am currently using a Xiaomi Mi 4C, running cyanogenmod 13 (marshmallow). I love this phone and rom!

ooh, cyanogenmod. i didn't especially care for it, but i feel like there was much more capability than i could figure out.

Fair enough. I like it for feeling like stock android but with a few improvements. Its nice on this phone because the stock rom is quite different from stock android.

[phosphoric]

Nice idea for a thread. I am currently using a Xiaomi Mi 4C, running cyanogenmod 13 (marshmallow). I love this phone and rom!

ooh, cyanogenmod. i didn't especially care for it, but i feel like there was much more capability than i could figure out.

Fair enough. I like it for feeling like stock android but with a few improvements. Its nice on this phone because the stock rom is quite different from stock android.

i don't think i ever got a fair experience with cm if i'm being entirely honest. i could never get past the bootloader on my s4 and tried out cm for a week before swapping back to stock android l on my nexus 5

[dgneo]

Currently rocking a 128GB iPhone 6, Jailbroken on 9.0.2. I've gone back and forth between Android and Apple, and I honestly don't mind either of them. I'm a pretty big power user, I love customization, and I do enjoy that most Android phones can be rooted pretty easily. If I couldn't jailbreak my iPhone, I'd honestly jump back to Android, no question about it.

Here's my current setup:

[romevi]

Currently rocking a 128GB iPhone 6, Jailbroken on 9.0.2. I've gone back and forth between Android and Apple, and I honestly don't mind either of them. I'm a pretty big power user, I love customization, and I do enjoy that most Android phones can be rooted pretty easily. If I couldn't jailbreak my iPhone, I'd honestly jump back to Android, no question about it.

Here's my current setup:

Show Image

Show Image

I freaking love icon packs and go through so many. I have a Galaxy S5 with a few "material"-like icon packs installed. Every time I download an app I cycle through which icon I'd want to use. I even download some apps just because I like their icon in one of my packs!

[Pemdas]

I'm using a Samsung note 5 right now and love it! This is also the first android phone I've had that I didn't root. Miss a couple things but overall it's not as bad as I thought it was going to be.

I've used Android as my main phone since day 1 but have owned a couple iPhones as fun side devices as well I enjoy both OSs but I do prefer Android for my main phone.



HTC Dream G1 > HTC Evo 4g > LG Optimus G > HTC M7 > HTC M8 > Samsung Note 5

All of them except the Evo 4g still work! And the evo only doesn't work cause it doesn't have a battery.

Currently rocking a 128GB iPhone 6, Jailbroken on 9.0.2. I've gone back and forth between Android and Apple, and I honestly don't mind either of them. I'm a pretty big power user, I love customization, and I do enjoy that most Android phones can be rooted pretty easily. If I couldn't jailbreak my iPhone, I'd honestly jump back to Android, no question about it.

Here's my current setup:

Man that icon set is beautiful! Could I get the name of that? I hope there's an android version ha

[xondat]

Friends N6, got a M8 and will be getting a 6S/6P.

[suicidal_orange]

I'm too paranoid to sell my soul to google and not rich enough to risk smashing some iphones, so I'm still using a Jolla.  The new version of Sailfish is worse than the old but battery life is good enough and it does everything I want it to (not much) so I'm not looking to change anytime soon.

[PadawanGeek]

When it came time for me to re-contract with my present telco (thus, I can buy a new phone at less than half its retail cost) recently, I jumped on a Sony Xperia Z5 Premium. I still have my 'old' phone, an LG G Pro 2, which I use as a backup phone, I also have a 2nd SIM card (which shares usage and billing with my main SIM) which I use on the LG. I've been an Android user since I can remember.....other than back when Nokia used to dominate the cell phone scene. I loved my old N95, I had kept it after it'd long outlived its usefulness, would still have it had I not shifted, couldn't find it after the shift.....

[raymogi]

I tried to like Android, latest phone I bought being Nexus 6P, but I keep coming back to my 6S. There's just something about the simplicity of iOS that keeps me coming back to it.

[MassdropAlex]

I'm using a Samsung note 5 right now and love it! This is also the first android phone I've had that I didn't root. Miss a couple things but overall it's not as bad as I thought it was going to be.

I've used Android as my main phone since day 1 but have owned a couple iPhones as fun side devices as well I enjoy both OSs but I do prefer Android for my main phone.

Show Image

HTC Dream G1 > HTC Evo 4g > LG Optimus G > HTC M7 > HTC M8 > Samsung Note 5

All of them except the Evo 4g still work! And the evo only doesn't work cause it doesn't have a battery.

How do you like the M8? I always wanted to get in on the HTC One, but seems like the M9 was a big dsiappointment. So now I'm just waiting to see what the new one ends up looking like.

[OfTheWild]

i still use an iPhone 4
Jailbroken on ios 7.1.2 so i can tether it to my laptop at work.

[Touch_It]

I have 2 cell phones.  An Iphone 6s for work, and a Microsoft Lumia 640 running windows 10 technical preview for my personal.  the 640 is pretty boss for a $50 phone.  Cant imagine many other $50 phones would be this nice.

[Darkshado]

My daily driver is a Motorola Nexus 6, with my homemade build of Omni ROM.

For input I've been using Swype for a very long time. I'd say that my only real bottleneck for "typing" speed on it is keeping an eye on the word detection. Said speed probably fluctuates a lot more than on a regular keyboard because failed words have to either be tried again or typed manually.

My current backup phone is a first generation Moto G LTE (XT1045, peregrine) running stock rooted 5.1, I've already built TWRP 3.0 for it (sources are on GitHub, haven't uploaded any binaries online yet) and I should eventually build Omni 6.0 as well. I've also kept my previous Note 2 LTE (SGH-T889V), iirc it currently has some Cyanogenmod left on it because Omni didn't have a maintainer for 6.0.

Past cellphones:

• 1st: some grey, monochrome candybar Samsung - hand-me-down, can't argue with the price! Given away, may have served as movie/TV prop.
• Samsung SPH-M510 - Given away, possible movie/TV prop too. Bought a 10$ USB cable on eBay and flashed my own ringtones + downloaded applets instead of paying 4$/each to my carrier.
• Samsung Impact (touchscreen "featurephone" with Qualcomm BREW OS) used the same cable as the M510. - Sold.
• 1st Android: Samsung Nexus S GT-I9020A. Two weeks or so later typed "fastboot oem unlock" for the first time. - Sold.
• Samsung Galaxy Gio GT-S5660M: I still had the Impact but had been looking for a properly synced Android backup to my Nexus. Zellers (of all places) had it on sale as a prepaid device. Checked out XDA, it was possible to SIM unlock with root, code was available in cleartext. Not a great phone by any stretch, but it did the trick. - Sold.

Phones I was given:

• LG C800G Eclypse - Only slider in my "collection". Low resolution screen had issues with more recent apps. Single core MSM7227 (like the Gio's) couldn't keep up with the times. - Was flashed with an unofficial CM9 and CWM at some point in its life since the Gingerbread stock ROM had a number of issues. Sitting unused on a shelf, still works and is SIM unlocked.
• Samsung Galaxy Ace 2X GT-S7560M - Interestingly has a dual SIM reader whose second, inactive, slot was blocked off by the factory housing. - Bricked and put in an electronics recycling bin.
• Samsung Galaxy S3 SGH-T999V - Shattered screen and battery door, good motherboard. Put in the electronics recycling bin along with the Ace 2X.

[Findecanor]

I don't like cell phones. I almost never use them. I used one today but that was a rare occasion.
I don't own any "smartphone".

[FLFisherman]

I don't like cell phones. I almost never use them. I used one today but that was a rare occasion.
I don't own any "smartphone".

What sort of phone do you own then, if any?

I think at this point the term "smartphone" has become a bit unnecessary. It seems as though the standard for a cellphone is a "smartphone."

[whmeltonjr]

Currently have an iPhone 6S+. I've owned more Android phones than iPhones (last one was the Nexus 6), but always come back to Apple. I don't really use my phone for much. Take some pics, browse reddit/twitter/geekhack, and check emails. The things I care about most are battery life, screen size, and camera. I bought an Apple Watch a few months ago, so I guess I'll be sticking with Apple through at least the iPhone 7.

[theoriginal123123]

Galaxy S4, a hand-me-down since my old S3 has a dodgy battery. Rooted, with a debloated and slimmed down stock ROM, customised to be as all black as possible on my most used apps, so that the OLED screen uses less power.

[Pemdas]

I'm using a Samsung note 5 right now and love it! This is also the first android phone I've had that I didn't root. Miss a couple things but overall it's not as bad as I thought it was going to be.

I've used Android as my main phone since day 1 but have owned a couple iPhones as fun side devices as well I enjoy both OSs but I do prefer Android for my main phone.

Show Image

HTC Dream G1 > HTC Evo 4g > LG Optimus G > HTC M7 > HTC M8 > Samsung Note 5

All of them except the Evo 4g still work! And the evo only doesn't work cause it doesn't have a battery.

How do you like the M8? I always wanted to get in on the HTC One, but seems like the M9 was a big dsiappointment. So now I'm just waiting to see what the new one ends up looking like.

I loved the M8! Never bothered with the M9 only becuase it didn't seem like a significant upgrade from the M8. I still use the M8 sometimes for media comsumption, the 2 front facing speakers have ruined other phones for me. All my other phones sound like crap compared to the boomsound :(

[skitty]

Friends N6, got a M8 and will be getting a 6S/6P.

I really miss my N6, I dropped it and shattered the screen. 

[fanpeople]

I miss my Razr...

(Attachment Link)

OMFG i just nostalgaed all over the floor. I ****ing loved that phone until it just died one day. Flip phones were and i think still are the best for answering calls. There was nothing more badass than flipping that sucker open to take a call.

[fohat.digs]

My teenage kids and I have used Samsung/Android gear for a few years now. Wife is a devout Apple worshiper. General consensus among my kids' high school circle is that Android is much better than Apple, but the Orthodox will never let go.

They have S5s but my Avant is perfectly satisfactory for me, at half the price, for minimal internet and email usage. My desktop is main undisputed primary computing experience.

Apple is the hated Evil Empire and I never plan to use any Apple product newer than my Alps-switch extended keyboards in the foreseeable future.

PS - As for conventional cell phones, my Nokia 3390 monochrome was/is the zenith. A week between battery charges and it does text. I can even slip my SIM card into it and use it today.

[vivalarevolución]

i used to be an Apple guy.  But I can't stand that they do not allow me to throw an SD card in there for extra storage and that they cannibalize the older phones by not supporting them on the latest iOS releases.  So I started using Android phones.

I don't like how big all the new phones are, so I bought a Sony Xperia Z1 Compact, which basically has all the same components as the flagship Xperia Z, but with about 4-inch screen.  Only downer is the short battery life.  If Sony continues to offer their flagship phones in compact size, I will continue buying them when this one breaks.

[ghostjuggernaut]

I preordered the Nexus 6p, but changed it to a 5x about a week before release. Love the size, but the 5x is quite possibly the worst Nexus device I've ever used. I think the Nexus 5 still beats the 5x.

[skitty]

I preordered the Nexus 6p, but changed it to a 5x about a week before release. Love the size, but the 5x is quite possibly the worst Nexus device I've ever used. I think the Nexus 5 still beats the 5x.

What don't you like about the 5x? I was thinking about getting it as my next phone (or the 6p).

[ghostjuggernaut]

I preordered the Nexus 6p, but changed it to a 5x about a week before release. Love the size, but the 5x is quite possibly the worst Nexus device I've ever used. I think the Nexus 5 still beats the 5x.

What don't you like about the 5x? I was thinking about getting it as my next phone (or the 6p).

Without a doubt, go 6p. My friend has one and it is sick. If you want a 5" phone go with something else. The OS lags and stutters words than any phone I've ever had. I get system ui fc's daily. The phone is great when it works, it just doesn't work like I'd expect a Nexus to.

[skitty]

I preordered the Nexus 6p, but changed it to a 5x about a week before release. Love the size, but the 5x is quite possibly the worst Nexus device I've ever used. I think the Nexus 5 still beats the 5x.

What don't you like about the 5x? I was thinking about getting it as my next phone (or the 6p).

Without a doubt, go 6p. My friend has one and it is sick. If you want a 5" phone go with something else. The OS lags and stutters words than any phone I've ever had. I get system ui fc's daily. The phone is great when it works, it just doesn't work like I'd expect a Nexus to.

I'm leaning more towards the 6p since the 6 got me used to larger screens. It just sucks trying to squeeze them into my pockets though.
How is the camera on it?

[ghostjuggernaut]

I preordered the Nexus 6p, but changed it to a 5x about a week before release. Love the size, but the 5x is quite possibly the worst Nexus device I've ever used. I think the Nexus 5 still beats the 5x.

What don't you like about the 5x? I was thinking about getting it as my next phone (or the 6p).

Without a doubt, go 6p. My friend has one and it is sick. If you want a 5" phone go with something else. The OS lags and stutters words than any phone I've ever had. I get system ui fc's daily. The phone is great when it works, it just doesn't work like I'd expect a Nexus to.

I'm leaning more towards the 6p since the 6 got me used to larger screens. It just sucks trying to squeeze them into my pockets though.
How is the camera on it?

Camera is nice. I think my S6 took much better photos, but for a Nexus it is really great.

[skitty]

I preordered the Nexus 6p, but changed it to a 5x about a week before release. Love the size, but the 5x is quite possibly the worst Nexus device I've ever used. I think the Nexus 5 still beats the 5x.

What don't you like about the 5x? I was thinking about getting it as my next phone (or the 6p).

Without a doubt, go 6p. My friend has one and it is sick. If you want a 5" phone go with something else. The OS lags and stutters words than any phone I've ever had. I get system ui fc's daily. The phone is great when it works, it just doesn't work like I'd expect a Nexus to.

I'm leaning more towards the 6p since the 6 got me used to larger screens. It just sucks trying to squeeze them into my pockets though.
How is the camera on it?

Camera is nice. I think my S6 took much better photos, but for a Nexus it is really great.

Ok, one last question.

How's the fingerprint sensor? Is it quicker to use it then unlocking with a pattern? I've never used a phone that had a fingerprint sensor before.

[ghostjuggernaut]

I preordered the Nexus 6p, but changed it to a 5x about a week before release. Love the size, but the 5x is quite possibly the worst Nexus device I've ever used. I think the Nexus 5 still beats the 5x.

What don't you like about the 5x? I was thinking about getting it as my next phone (or the 6p).

Without a doubt, go 6p. My friend has one and it is sick. If you want a 5" phone go with something else. The OS lags and stutters words than any phone I've ever had. I get system ui fc's daily. The phone is great when it works, it just doesn't work like I'd expect a Nexus to.

I'm leaning more towards the 6p since the 6 got me used to larger screens. It just sucks trying to squeeze them into my pockets though.
How is the camera on it?

Camera is nice. I think my S6 took much better photos, but for a Nexus it is really great.

Ok, one last question.
How's the fingerprint sensor? Is it quicker to use it then unlocking with a pattern? I've never used a phone that had a fingerprint sensor before.

Oh man. It's perfect. It's roughly in the same location as the 6's dimple, so your finger probably goes there already. It's fast. Rarely fails. In my experience it blows every other scanner away. My wife has a 6 and I used to have an S6.

[skitty]

Oh man. It's perfect. It's roughly in the same location as the 6's dimple, so your finger probably goes there already. It's fast. Rarely fails. In my experience it blows every other scanner away. My wife has a 6 and I used to have an S6.

That's great to hear, now I might look into getting one. Maybe I'll give my Moto X Pure to my younger sister.

Thanks for answering all my questions!

[alexjd99]

OnePlus One with Nova Launcher Prime running Cyanogen and a mix of Moonshine Icons and some others here and there.

[Findecanor]

What sort of phone do you own then, if any?

One which has physical, tactile buttons with which I can touch-dial a number without looking at the buttons.
This is a forum full of keyboard geeks; What did you expect?

Anyway.... I think that an Asian-style flip-phone with tactile buttons on the bottom half and touchscreen on the top half would be nice. Best of both worlds and nicer to hold in the hand.
But for actual web serfing, a real computer always beats phones (except maybe for sites that are made only for phones.... which I hate)

There will be a time in most people's lives when the eye sight has deteriorated so much that tiny text on a 326+ DPI screen is unintelligible. At that time, a touchscreen-only smartphone will be mostly useless, while the one with tactile buttons will still be as good as ever.

Another thing is battery life. I have not recharged my simple phone in months. The brand new iPhone I have at work can't go even a couple of days switched off without losing its charge.

[vivalarevolución]

What sort of phone do you own then, if any?

One which has physical, tactile buttons with which I can touch-dial a number without looking at the buttons.

Duh. This is a keyboard forum.

Those still exist?

[FLFisherman]

What sort of phone do you own then, if any?

One which has physical, tactile buttons with which I can touch-dial a number without looking at the buttons.

Duh. This is a keyboard forum.

Those still exist?

I really liked my Razr.

Now I've got this fancy superphone and I love its features, but I still miss that Razr.

[fohat.digs]

One which has physical, tactile buttons with which I can touch-dial a number without looking at the buttons.

Those still exist?

Nokia 3390  $10 on ebay, + $1 for an adapter to hold the smaller modern SIMs

Yet another bonus is the monochrome screen which is always on, no screensaver is needed. You can look over at the phone and see the time and whether anything has happened, even if you haven't touched it in hours.

You can also leave it out in the rain or drop it on concrete and it will likely survive.

[ghostjuggernaut]

One which has physical, tactile buttons with which I can touch-dial a number without looking at the buttons.

Those still exist?

Nokia 3390  $10 on ebay, + $1 for an adapter to hold the smaller modern SIMs

Yet another bonus is the monochrome screen which is always on, no screensaver is needed. You can look over at the phone and see the time and whether anything has happened, even if you haven't touched it in hours.

You can also leave it out in the rain or drop it on concrete and it will likely survive.

That was my first phone

[vivalarevolución]

I remember when Nokia ruled the cell world.  Then Apple came along...

[Ephemeral]

Been a OnePlus One user for close to a year now. This is my first android phone and, being a lover of customization, I prefer it over my old iPhones.

[Jolikki]

I have a One as well, the best phone I've used since my jailbroken iPhone 4S.

[CSCoder4ever]

Right now just a first gen Moto E... it works, I only use it as a phone anyways.

Although at some point I will look into throwing CyanogenMod onto it.

[Leslieann]

Galaxy S4 I put together from parts.

It's rooted running a custom rom I threw together one night, mostly stripped stock. It's getting a bit tired due to wear and tear, but I like the size and format.  I wouldn't mind a better rom support (locked bootloader), camera, and maybe a bit better battery but everything with better specs is either really expensive or huge, both of which I don't like, this is already pushing it on size for me. I refuse to carry an $800 computer in my pocket/purse. Too easy to break.